Lawsuit: Louisville man in 'distress' talked about suicide before killing himself in isolated jail cell

LOUISVILLE, Ky., (WDRB) -- The family of a Louisville man who killed himself in Metro Corrections has filed a federal lawsuit against jail officials and staffers claiming he was in "psychological distress" and told employees he had previously attempted suicide but was ignored and put in a single cell anyway.

Leslie Starnes’s comments and behavior were noted and observed, and jail staff and officials knew "there was a strong likelihood that Mr. Starnes would commit suicide" but did not provide him treatment or consistently monitor him, according to the lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court.

Starnes, 36, was in Metro Corrections for a parole violation when he committed suicide on Feb. 6, 2022.

Starnes was moved to a single cell without being medically cleared, as is required when an inmate shows suicidal tendencies, according to the suit filed against former Dir. Dwayne Clark and several other officials and staffers as well as the jail’s medical provider at the time, Wellpath.

At the time of his death, Starnes was being housed in a cell without lights that should not have been in use, according to a report obtained by WDRB News.

The report written by an on-duty sergeant said an officer found Starnes with a sheet around his neck. Corrections officers tried to remove the sheet, but the blade used to cut the sheet from his neck was dull.

It took Corrections officers at least two minutes to cut the sheet with the blade.

An internal investigation showed medical staff was not contacted by officers before Starnes was placed in an isolated cell despite saying he had previously tried to kill himself.

The lawsuit claims Clark and other officials knew there was an ongoing problem with deaths in the jail and a lack of monitoring by staff, as there had been multiple other suicides and deaths around the same time.

In November, the family of a Louisville woman who hanged herself in Metro Corrections in December 2021 after she was left unsupervised for several hours while locked in a small "attorney booth" was paid $1.25 million by the city to settle a wrongful death lawsuit.

From the time of that death to Starnes' suicide, six Metro Corrections inmates died at the jail or while in jail custody.

Attorney Trenton Burns, who represents the Starnes' family, said Metro Corrections has suicide prevention policies and procedures "to prevent these exact tragedies from happening."

But in this case, staff "largely ignored" the policies and procedures, he said in a statement.

"To go through the investigative reports and clearly see that if everyone had just done their job, and LMDC administration had stepped up to ensure that the proper procedures were being followed by corrections staff, these deaths, including Adam’s, would not have occurred," Burns said. "The lack of accountability during this timeframe, when multiple lives were being lost, is disturbing, at best."

An internal investigation concluded one staffer violated policy but left before being disciplined.

A spokesman for Metro Corrections said the department does not comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit is seeking a jury trial and unspecified monetary damages.

This story may be updated.

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